One of the things our publisher does is have each of their authors create a short video about their book. A movie trailer of sorts – but for a book.

Artisan suggested we hire a little film/editing crew to do it, but like true DIYers we took it as a fun challenge to see how much we could do ourselves. So we came up with an outline, wrote a little script, hired a local video genius to shoot it for us (who also happens to be our brother in law) and edited it ourselves in Final Cut Pro back in March. And now that we’re two months away from the official book release date (Nov 6th, aka Election Day) we’re finally allowed to share it! Wahoo.

We had to finish the video so early because our publisher needed it for a spring sales conference in March, so as soon as we got back from Hawaii the pressure was on (see how bare the trees are in this pic?). Thankfully all of the projects were already finished for when we shot all of the book photography over three weeks at our house in February, so one day of shooting video and setting up little impromptu vignettes wasn’t too tricky. It was actually really fun.

The funniest thing is that we handed in our outline for all of the projects in the book about a year before this video was shot, so finally seeing the projects in real life in a polished format like this (since it was well before we saw any final book proofs) was kind of surreal. I guess it’s akin to baking a cake for a year or two and finally getting to taste it.

The weirdest part by far was recording our nerdy little voice over (while sitting in a closet using our iPhones) and layering that in there. Allow us to share this reenactment so you can picture it (Burger was playing the role of “Supervisor”):

And for those of you at work who can’t watch videos, here are a few still shots (there are a lot more sneak peeks of various projects in the video though):

We’re so relieved to finally be able to reveal some of the projects in the book – even if it’s only a small portion for now. Thankfully in less than two months the book will be out (you can pre order it here) so all those kitties will be out of the bag. Can’t wait! Free the kitties!

Have you guys ever written a video script and attempted to make a somewhat polished little YouTube ditty? It’s kinda fun, right? The clothesline concept was all John’s – and we love how it allowed us to squeeze in a few bonus project peeks. I’d say previewing 15 projects in a little over a minute is pretty speedy, indeed. You know we like to cram stuff in there (slash are terrible secret keepers). Woot!

Woo Hoo! SOOO excited to buy your book! :) I was super excited to see the clip about stenciling a rug…I was just considering doing that for our dining room rug. Yay! I don’t know if I can wait all the way until Nov to see how to do it though! ;)

Aww! So cute! You guys are endlessly charming, and the video captures that perfectly! I’m super-excited to get my copy of the book in the mail come November! What a great treat to bridge the gap between Halloween and Christmas! ^_^

You two are just so gorgeous. I love catching up on all your latest projects and fun with each other,Clara and of course Burger. I live in Perth, Western Australia so you are most definately international stars. (Well in my book anyway.) Looking forward to lots more of you all. I have already pre-ordered your book.Your video is so cute by the way.

That. Is. The. Cutest. Video. Ever!!! I seriously watched it multiple times. And I love how Burger came prancing in in the very first scene. GREAT JOB! I thought I was pumped about the book when I pre-ordered a couple of months ago. Words can’t explain how excited I am….Like Saved By The Bell Jessie Spano excited except without the pills.

Yay! It’s almost here! Great job on the video. I loved the gradient dresser. I don’t blame you for keeping it! haha I just pre-ordered my book! Can’t wait until it comes out! That will also mean all this election crap at my job will be over so the release date will require a celebration of some sort! :)

Don’t be nervous, it will be fabulous! And I am sure there will be many of us who read it cover-to-cover the day it arrives at our door! (Not sure how to comment under your post, which is why I replied to my own)

Aw thanks Amanda! It’s so funny how 80% of us wants everyone to buy the book and 20% of us is afraid for anyone to buy it out of insecurity and what-if-they-don’t-love-it fear. Hahah! We poured our heart into this baby, so it feels sort of weird and vulnerable, haha.

If it makes you feel better, am currently refinishing our kitchen cabinets – something I never would have even attempted to do before reading your blog. So far about 1/3 is completely done – cabinets rehung and everything. And the hubs LOVES them – he thinks they look like new even though they are 40 years old. But there is this small part of me that is thinking “what if I didn’t do a good enough job? Could I be paying closer attention to detail? what if after all this work we decide we hate them and just want new cabinets?” But you just gotta keep on trucking. I think at some point in any project you have that moment of fear, but in the end, you are accomplishing something you never even thought possible. For me, it’s refinishing the cabinets. Even if they come out terrible, I did it myself and that’s what matters. So what if your book doesn’t end up a NY Times Bestseller (it will)? You guy WROTE A BOOK! Big pat on the back for you!

Also I’d like to just say for the record that I may have come up with idea # 129 simultaneously. Haha, jk but we do have small framed fabric that we love! Thanks for the decor confirmation I’m not weird.

Haha, you’re totally not weird! We’re hoping the book is a nice mix of I-never-thought-of-that, I-thouught-of-that-but-didn’t-know-how-to-do-it, and I-already-did-that-so-where’s-my-high-five moments. Haha. We just smashed a whole lotta classic and less expected ideas together and called it good :)

Awww…love the video! We’re so used to seeing still photos and hearing your “voice” through typed words – it’s fun to see you guys in live action and see your personalities shine. Makes me even more excited to get the book!

I LOVE the gradient painted on the dresser!!!! OMG makes me want to go thrift store-ing for a dresser I can do that too!! I preordered your book a month ago I am so excited for it to arrive on my doorstep!

Ah this is so exciting! I feel like I have been on this journey with you guys since reading your blog all these years. Congrats on your accomplishments. Y’all should be proud! Can’t wait to get the book!

About

Hey, we're Sherry & John. This is where we chronicled 7 years of our lives as we fixed up 3 homes, had 2 children, became accidental authors and product designers, and shared our adventures (and misadventures) with the world. Now it's a time capsule of sorts, complete with nearly 3,000 posts, projects, and updates.